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Mark Hudson

A 55-year-old man has been jailed for spending all his elderly mother's money and leaving the taxpayer to foot the bill for her care.

At Gloucester Crown Court today father-of-three Mark Hudson of High Street, Lydney, was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting committing fraud between August 13 2014 and October 16 2016.

Prosecutor Janine Wood said Hudson's mother Nancy, now 85, suffers from vascular dementia and has been living at Brookthorpe Care Home near Gloucester since 2013.

Hudson was appointed by the Court of Protection to take care of her affairs after his brother initially had power of attorney, only to have it removed from him because Gloucestershire County Council had 'concerns.'

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Michael Smith

A homeless man who groomed a teenage Forest of Dean girl for sex was jailed for six months today after flouting the the terms of a suspended sentence he received for the offence almost two years ago.

Michael Smith, now 20, was arrested in March 2016 when he arrived at Cinderford bus station after travelling 260 miles to meet the girl he had been chatting to on Facebook.

He appeared before Gloucester Crown Court in May that year and received a 12 months jail term suspended for two years with conditions including supervision and a 30 day rehabilitation activity requirement.

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Robin Mitchell

(Image: Gloucestershire police)

Soon after being released on parole from a four-year jail sentence for walk-in burglaries, Robin Mitchell went back to his old ways and raided the same Cheltenham hotel twice in a few days, a court heard.

The second time the 38-year-old burgled the Wyastone Hotel he was caught red-handed because the owner had installed CCTV following his first raid five days earlier, Gloucester Crown Court was told on Friday.

He was seen on CCTV to be carrying a knife as he prowled around the hotel. Police were called and surrounded the building.

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Benjamin Coleman

A teenaged burglar whose raid on a Gloucester couple's home while they slept left them traumatised has walked free from court today.

Benjamin Coleman, 18, of Whaddon Road, Cheltenham, pleaded guilty at Gloucester Crown Court to burgling the maisonette home of Katy Havers and Mike Hallun in Graham Gardens, Estcourt Road, on the night of August 23 last year.

Prosecutor Kirsty Real said Coleman carried out the raid with another man, John Snee, who has been jailed for three years at an earlier hearing for a catalogue of offences including the burglary.